This is podcast 138 and, as promised, it’s my interview with Canadian social worker Elaine Birchall, who’s worked for 18 years helping hoarders. She has a book out called Conquer the Clutter. We talk about the three criteria of hoarding, the TV show Hoarders and the paths to becoming a hoarder.
Topics: clutters, paper management, self help, col#1
This is podcast 124 and it’s an interview with mom-preneur Stephanie Gass. Her business supports and inspires female entrepreneurs, especially moms. She has a podcast, The Mompreneur Mastermind Show and courses are available on her website Stephanie gass.com.
Topics: clutters, clutters coach, self help, col#1
This is a rerun of my podcast based on Simple Way #21 in my book. It's about taking baby steps to advance whatever project you're working on. When you're procrastinating on something, this is an excellent way to get over the hump of fear or intimidation or worry about starting. Because you're just taking one tiny step forward.
Topics: clutters, clutters coach, self help, col#1
This is Podcast 139 and it’s an interview with artist Kasey Smith who I met when she was the curator for the Oakland Figment art festival. Kasey creates site specific installations, performances, and art events with a focus on the ephemerality of the cityscape. She’s a busy artist and also works full time so we talked about fitting all that in. We talked about the challenges of working at home, staying focused and battling perfectionism.
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 136 and it’s about not being in the mood, dang it! On this podcast I talk about ways to have less clutter, use your time effectively and be organized with what I hope is a light touch rather than a rigid prescription. I talk about the benefits of habits, but without the regimentation of doing things like clockwork, or else.
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 134 and it’s about setting achievable goals. We live in a culture where we’re encouraged to set daring goals for ourselves. There’s even an acronym, BHAG, that stands for big, hairy, audacious goal. I approve of goal setting as a way to keep yourself motivated and to be able to tell whether you’ve gotten to the place you want to be so you can stop and acknowledge your progress.
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
In this episode I talk to my friend Adam Davis who’s a musician, artist, husband and dad who teaches at a local gym and also gives guitar lessons. How does he juggle all that? We talk about making notes for lyrics on his iPhone, making time for art, using positive self talk to control destructive brain weasels and dealing with constant laundry.
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
If you’re worried about the amount of stuff you have, no matter what it is, then it’s an issue. It’s an issue not because you’re a bad person or are mentally ill, but you’ve grasped that your home isn’t so easy to live in anymore, either physically because things are in the way or emotionally because there is too much distraction or too many tasks left undone because of the clutter.
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 133 and it’s about how to create good habits. I was inspired by reading a review of a new book called Good Habits, Bad Habits, by psychologist Wendy Wood. The author says what I already knew and have podcasted about before; that willpower has little to do with forming good habits, or being successful, or even having self control. The best way to form a good habit is to set up your environment to make success easy.
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast 131: how to avoid multitasking. By now you’ve heard, if not from me, then from many others, that multitasking is a bad idea. That’s true. It’s not effective. It makes your work take longer, you’ll make more mistakes and it increases your chances of not finishing the main thing you need to do because you’ve gone down so many rabbit holes.
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast 132 and it’s about decision controls. So what the heck are decision controls, you may ask? I happened upon this phrase hearing about Dr. Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, a British fire fighter who’s also a doctor of behavioral neuroscience. She wanted to know if decisions made by fire fighters in the heat of the moment (yeah, I couldn’t resist) were as well informed as they could be, in order to be effective and also safe.
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is Podcast 130 and it’s about the danger of all or nothing thinking. This kind of thinking can get you energized about an organizing project or even ongoing maintenance when you’re on the “all” side of the equation, but it has obvious drawbacks when you end up on the “nothing” side.
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast 129 and it’s about keeping track of the work of other people. Recently I consulted with someone about making sure to do’s got done at work. But not his to do’s, his assistant’s. He’s a pretty organized guy. He gets things done and so do others in his office. He trusts his assistant. But every once in a while something slips through the cracks.
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 128 and it’s about finding the hidden ways your time is being spent. These are things that are hiding in plain sight but we don’t notice them because they’re always there, or we discount how much time they take, or they are so habitual that we truly can’t see them. But it’s not about rooting them out. It’s about noticing them.
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 127 and it’s about tidy vs. organized. A lot of the time, they go together. If your possessions have homes that make sense and they get put back in those homes when not in use, tidiness will usually result. If an item’s home is 2/3rds of the way down a big, precarious pile of paper, it’s organized, but not that tidy.
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 126 and it’s about quick tips to get you out of tight spots. Things you can do when you feel a bit panicked that things are out of control and you don’t know what to do next.
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 125 and it’s about focusing on process rather than results. Someone I met recently has decided finally to declutter and get organized and is fired up about it. The time has come! Let’s go! Now!
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast 122 and it's about adding a third question: do I hate it? I've written about Marie Kondo's favorite question: does it spark joy? And about my version, which adds a question: Do I love it? Do I need it? Now we'll add that third question that comes in handy in some situations.
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is the podcast 121 and it's about the pop out effect. The pop out effect occurs when you look at a screen of green circles and can easily identify the one red circle. It's the only one that's not green so visually it pops out at you. You don't have to think about it. It's immediate.
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is Podcast 120 and it's about rewarding yourself. It seems logical that having a reward to look forward to would motivate you to complete a task. You tell yourself, once I finish writing my book, I'll take a nice vacation. Once I complete the bike marathon this summer, I'll buy those new shoes I've been wanting.
Topics: clutters, clutters coach, self help, col#1
This is podcast 119 and it's about having stuff. Many of my shows are about this topic, of course. A lot of the time, I encourage you to have less and to get rid of things that you don't need or really want anymore. Especially things that are broken or out of date or that you haven't used in a million years. I advocate having the items you love and need, the ones that spark joy and the ones that keep your life running smoothly without extra effort.
Topics: clutters, clutters coach, self help, col#1
This is podcast 118 and it's about what to do when you're overwhelmed. Sometimes, "just do it," the subject of my previous podcast, isn't going to work. There are days when stressful situations pile up to the point where you really can't function, or you can see that you're operating way below normal and really not getting anything done.
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 115 and it's my interview with Gretchen Rubin, author of the brand new book Outer Order, Inner Calm. The subtitle is "declutter and organize to make more room for happiness." I'm excited because this is the first time I've done an interview for the podcast and it turned out great. Gretchen was delightful to talk to. She could definitely have a second career as a professional organizer! You can find her book in my Amazon store. Click the shop link on the top menu....
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast 117 and it's called Just do it! I guess I have to mention Nike so they don't sue me for co-opting their slogan. Here's some weird trivia for you. That slogan was inspired by murderer Gary Gilmore's last words before he was executed: "Let's do it." Maybe "inspired" isn't quite the right word there. Anyway, strange, huh?
Topics: clutters, paper management, self help, col#1
This is podcast 116 and it's about the perils of storage space. Are you scared? You should be! I came across a post on the website Becoming Minimalist, which has some great tips on downsizing for families. This post cited statistics about how much stuff people own and how much room it takes up. Here are some of them.
Topics: The podcast is based on my book, 52 Simple Ways to Get Organized, available on my website. Each...
This is Podcast 114 and it's about organizing systems to cope with growth and change. I'm about to start an office organizing project. This small company is growing fast and they've increased their office space by a little more than half. And suddenly chaos is busting out all over.
Topics: clutters, clutters coach, self help, col#1
This is Podcast 113 and it's about the Konmari method, Marie Kondo's magic way of tidying up. There are pros and cons to the method. I'll talk about why it might not work for you and why that's okay, and how you can tweak it to suit you.
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1
This is Podcast 111 and it's called quit sorting. Like last time, this podcast is based on what I've gotten from reading a book called Algorithms to Live By. There are a bunch of sorting algorithms. Sorting is a common task a computer is asked to do.
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1
This is Podcast 112 and it's about habit development. I recently started coaching through an app called Coach.me. Their approach is to focus on creating small daily habits. The daily part is key. If you can do your new, positive habit even just for a minute every day, that's better than doing an hour once a week. Once you get momentum with doing whatever it is every day, you can progress to improving the quality or the time you spend.
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1
This is podcast 110, What's in Your Cache?, and it's about algorithms! If you have math fear, please don't run away. This isn't going to be about math. An algorithm, as far as I can figure out, is a process to achieve a particular result. It's not a single rule or formula. It involves a number of steps.
Topics: clutters, clutters coach, self help, col#1
Today I’m talking to Renee Green who is operations manager at a small software company. We’ll talk about the abrupt transition to working at home and how it’s going, and how things may go in the future. In particular, we’ll talk about the challenges of working remotely, especially when there’s been no advance preparation or experience.
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 109 and it's about delegating. Delegating is a critical skill to master if you want to get ahead in your career. It means many things. It means clearly and concisely handing off jobs to employees and mentoring them to work independently and not micromanage them.
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is Podcast 108 and it's about passive attention. Back in podcast 83 I talked about paying attention, about mindfulness. It's a critical skill for being more effective and getting things done. It's related to focus, but it's a little different.
Topics: clutters, clutters coach, self help, col#1
This is podcast 107 and it's about getting ready to move. I occasionally help people pare down their possessions for a move. In these cases, it's a corporate move and the company pays for this service. What a great idea! The company saves a bit on moving costs for their employee, and the employee gets to do what almost everyone wants to do before a move, but doesn’t get around to; go through all their stuff and get rid of things.
Topics: clutters, paper management, self help, col#1
This is podcast 142 and it’s an interview with Ryan Rawson, a self described divergent thinker, who is now working at home due to our current pandemic. We talked about the difficulties of divergent thinking and also the benefits of it, and how that affects having to work at home. He describes this kind of thinking as being concrete rather than abstract, meaning that he often notices and looks for important details that others discount or don’t see. We also got into what kind of hacks...
Topics: clutters, paper management, self help, col#1
This is podcast 144 and it’s about organizing to soothe your soul. If you’ve got the motivation, energy and focus for a project, you’ve probably already started one. I hope you’ve gotten some helpful info from my podcasts. If you’ve been feeling too distracted or worried, or busy with work that’s more tiring than usual because you’re doing it remotely, you probably haven’t. And that’s fine. But it occurred to me that some organizing tasks can be relaxing and take your mind off...
Topics: clutters, paper management, self help, col#1
This is podcast 145 and it’s about creating stabilizing structure. I’ve talked about this before but today I’ll give it a different slant because many people during this pandemic quarantine time have lost their daily regular routines and schedules. This isn’t about being more productive but about not feeling adrift and unstable. Life is full of uncertainties right now. Having a structure to your days gives you control over what you can control and that feels more grounded. You can...
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
I chose this podcast to replay because I know many people feel that they should be super productive now when they have all this extra time on their hands. But maybe you should just give yourself a break and realize that your brain doesn’t always know best. I hope this helps. This is podcast 71 and my topic is starting. I talked about that a few podcasts back, where I gave some ideas on how to get into action when you find yourself continuing NOT to. This time I'll talk less about technique...
Topics: clutters, clutters coach, self help, col#1
Today's podcast is based on chapter 8 of the book, The 10 minute tidy up. Now we're in the stuff section of the book, having ended with paper, stuff being any object that isn't paper. Even organized people make messes. The daily business of living means that you get your stuff out from wherever it's stored and use it. How much stuff you have out at any given time is a personal matter. Meaning, everyone's clutter threshold is different. If you live with others who have different thresholds,...
Topics: clutters, paper management, self help, col#1
This is podcast 105 and it's about desk triage. Can you spare half an hour? What if it would make the following half hour twice as productive? And the hour after that too? Spending time on organizing is a great investment because it always gives you a high return, unlike other investments these days. Ahem. Here's how to start. Figuring out how to start is often the hardest part of decluttering. The big secret is that it really doesn’t matter, just make a decision and do it. I’m going to...
Topics: clutters, clutters coach, self help, col#1
Last week I talked about why we procrastinate. This week, it's all about the solutions! I'm going to throw a whole bunch of them out here, so get your pencil. Here are some strategies from the Procrastination Research Group web site for handling procrastination: Make a list of everything you have to do. As we saw last week, our brains are notoriously bad at making accurate estimations about what we can get done in a day. We think we're keeping track of it all mentally but it's way more...
Topics: clutters, paper management, self help, col#1
Today's podcast is part one of two about procrastination. It's a big topic and it's the reason for a lot of clutter and disorganization. First, I'll talk about why people procrastinate. It's important to figure out what's going on for you before you can choose the right strategies to overcome it. Next week will be a review of those strategies. Did you know there's a Procrastination Research Group? It's run by Dr. Tim Pychyl (pitchel) of Carleton University. He's been studying procrastination...
Topics: clutters, paper management, self help, col#1
This is Podcast 102 and it's about using information. Are you good at gathering information? How about taking notes, on a seminar or a book? Maybe you write in the margins of the handouts, or maybe you create a dedicated binder for all your fantastic notes. But… what happens next? Unless you're in school, there's not going to be a test on those notes. There won't be a specific, time-sensitive reason for you to go back and refer to them again. To use them for a particular reason; to get closer...
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 99 and it's about a productivity tool I call the virtual team. You assemble a virtual team with people in your life to help you be accountable. I came up with this idea for one of my clients who's a consultant. He works for a company but doesn't have an office there. His job involves working with people from different departments on different projects. So for the most part, he's running the show. Sometimes his projects aren't moving along as fast as they could though. In a...
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is Podcast 98 and it's about getting organized on your own, whether it's just you, a couple or a family. If hiring an organizer isn't in your budget, what can you do? Well, I'm not going to dissuade anyone from working on their own. It certainly can be done. My aim in doing this podcast is to give you valuable tips and ideas that you can implement on your own. In this podcast I'll give you some guidelines. First, as you know if you've taken my ecourse, is to have a vision. Podcast 57...
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is Podcast 103 and it's called Focus and Daydreaming. In episode 93 I talked about focus and hyperfocus. This time I'll go into detail about the perils of not focusing and what you can do about it. We'll start with a quotation. “All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” That was written by Blaise Pascal in the 1600's but it's even more relevant now. I'll bet many of you listening right now are terrified by the idea of sitting quietly in a...
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 100! Wheee! Today I'm going to talk about completion. Some of my podcasts are about concrete actions you can take to get more organized or use your time better. A lot of them are about the concepts that underlie these actions. I never like doing something unless I know WHY I should do it. So I won't ask you to do anything without explaining why. When you understand the why AND you agree that it's a good idea, following through with action is usually much easier. Of course, we...
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 101 and it's called stop acquiring. Last time I talked about completion, that is, including time to put away whatever you just brought home or got in the mail or used for some purpose or that's out because someone else didn't put it away. Sure, blame someone else. It stands to reason that the more stuff you have, the more completion you need to do. Wouldn't it be nice to have less to do, so you have more time for fun? Today I'll talk about the perils of acquiring. That includes...
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 104 and it's about busy people. You've probably heard the phrase, "if you want something done, ask a busy person." Busy people get more done. Let's amend that to busy productive people, since we know that it's quite possible to be busy about nothing. That kind of busy person stays in constant motion but doesn't get things done, certainly not in proportion to the amount of time spent. The busy about nothing person likes the feeling of being in a whirlwind. There's...
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is podcast 94 and it's called "Know your end point." One big reason that people put off doing things is that they seem like they'll take forever. I've talked about this idea before in terms of breaking off small chunks of a project so you're not overwhelmed by the whole thing. Even with a small task, though, unless you have a clear idea of how you'll know when you're finished, you'll be resistant to taking it on. In this case, I don't mean how much time it takes, but how you...
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1
This is podcast 95 and it's about prioritizing. I'm surprised to look back and see that I haven't talked about this concept much! Lack of prioritizing is a big reason that people get overwhelmed and do nothing, or they focus on the wrong things because they're not looking at the big picture. To me, the most important factor in choosing priorities for how to spend your time each day is how well they reflect your life goals. After all, there's no point in being productive and efficient if...
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1
Podcast 97, this one, is about sorting. Back in podcast 61 I talked about general sorting principles. I find sorting to be easy and even kind of fun. Do you remember the Sesame Street recurring sketch called "One of these things"? In the sketch, there were four objects and one of them was different from the others. It's the preschooler's job to figure out which one is different. In one, Big Bird has four bowls of bird seed that are alike in shape, color and contents, but one is...
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1
This is podcast 96 and it's about being a questioner as one of the four tendencies. If you've been listening to me for awhile, you know I love to ask questions! I love to ask what I call stupid questions, the ones that people don't ask because they take the answer for granted and it doesn't occur them that they even CAN question it. I've always been this way. When I was a kid my dad gave me a book called Can elephants Swim? which answered lots of questions he couldn't respond to. Whenever I...
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1
This is Podcast 91 and it's about making your bed. Here's an excerpt from a commencement address given by Naval Admiral William H. McRaven a few years ago. "If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the...
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1
Today's podcast is about being present. In several podcasts, like the one about emotional clutter, that was #47, I've talked about this concept. The present is the place where you are okay. Where life is happening. If you're not in the present, you're missing out. Plus, you're often in a negative emotional state. Of course, we all have lots of good memories of the past and exciting plans for the future that make us happy. Those aren't the problem. The problem is when you get stuck in the past...
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1
This is Podcast 93 and it's about being focused. Last time I talked about being present. This time, right now, is all that you have. This time I'll talk about being focused and utilizing that present time. The kind of focus I mean is related to being present. It isn't hyperfocus, where the house can be burning down around you and you're so involved in what you're doing that you don't even notice. This may seem like an ideal condition to be in when there's a task you need to finish. But...
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1
This is podcast 90 and it's about being human. "I'm only human, of flesh and blood I'm made. I'm only human, born to make mistakes." I love 80's music and that song in particular. Sung by: The Human League! A bunch of humans! And that's my subject for today. I AM only human and I assume you are too. We have our systems and our technology but since WE are human we're fallible. Sometimes our systems will fail because they're badly designed, but often it's really operator error, right?
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1
This is Podcast 88 and it's about not being able to see what's in front of you because of how it's defined or named. Naming and defining are important. They help us differentiate things from each other. We assign them attributes that contrast them with other things. The other side of that is they become tied to those attributes and so identified with them that we can't see them in another light. Here's how that becomes a problem. I have some clients who are makers. Boy, are they ever! They've...
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1
This is podcast 89 and it's about finding the real truth. I had a breakthrough with a client yesterday. We've been talking for months about different storage options. She has a very specific preference, even though it has significant problems. Basically, she wants open shelving instead of cabinets or bins. But yesterday she suddenly agreed to closed storage. What happened? I asked her some questions and I figured out the answer. Her preference was based solely on reacting to a problem with...
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1v
This is Podcast 86 and it's about design thinking. I got reintroduced to this concept by Chris Wilson, the founder of Unstuck School, at a workshop he gave recently. He leads a program called Design Your Year that uses many creative ways to define and achieve your goals, one of which is not calling them goals. I just talked about that in podcast 84, about how scary and intimidating goals can be. One concept he shared with us that I found really interesting is design thinking. Current design...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
10/27/17. This is Podcast 76 and it's about organizing challenges for couples. I usually work with individuals, but sometimes I work with couples and families too. Even when I'm working just with an individual, there are family members lurking in the background and they have their own wants, needs, agendas, resistances and bad habits that we have to take into account. Sometimes I joke that I'm a marriage counselor and a personal trainer and an organizer all rolled into one. But it's kind of...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
11/9/17. This is Podcast 77 and it's about stories we tell ourselves to excuse our behavior. We think they're helpful because they explain ourselves to us. And that's true. But these stories can be dangerous too because they prevent us from moving forward and changing things we want to change. The story I come across most often is The Great Depression story. It goes like this: I have all this stuff because I (or my parents) grew up during the depression. Or, my family kept all these things...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is Podcast 75: do it your way. Back in podcast 17 I talked about how you can make your office less boring and conventional by outfitting it with patterned file folders and a tape dispenser shaped like an animal. Today I'll talk about making your processes and systems less boring. By that, I don't mean that they'll necessarily be fun, although that's always a good side benefit. What it mean is that they'll be more YOU.
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast #74 and it's about the power of labeling. It's to be expected that organizers like to label things. They run around with their little machines and slap a label onto anything that's not moving. I don't go that far, and not everything needs a label. Ease of finding things and ease of putting them away are two big reasons that getting organized matters, for anything you organize. It's supposed to save you time and make your life easier, not turn you into an obsessive compulsive...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
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May 7, 2021
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May 7, 2021
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Podcast 72. Have what you love, love what you have. Last time, I talked about not starting and how it affects me , not just people I work with. Yup, I too suffer from many of the same problems that my clients do. That's why I know so much about it. And I'm committed to improving, all the time. That's why I know so much about how to overcome those problems. The current challenge I'm giving myself is general decluttering. I decided that there's too much visual clutter in my apartment. It's...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
Hi, there! This is Podcast 73 and it's about journaling. Back in podcast 64 I talked about the technique I call Time Travel. This is when you think back on the day you've just lived and reflect on how you spent your time. This technique is helpful if you find yourself regularly wondering where the day went, or if you've been crossing things off your to do list, but still feeling like you aren't getting anywhere. Even when you plan your day to make progress on goals, you can find yourself in...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast 78 and it's about the iterative process. In the design world, an iterative process is one in which a prototype is tested to see if it fulfills its purpose. Feedback from users can show flaws and shortcomings that the designers didn't notice or didn't anticipate. They can be fixed for the next iteration. It can also generate new ideas that only are revealed when the prototype is actually being used. Users ask questions like: why doesn't it work THIS way? Why are there only two...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is Podcast 87 and it's about the other three stages of design thinking: ideate, prototype and test. This carries on from the previous podcast. Ideate means coming up with ideas to address the problem you identified in phase 2. This is the time to go wild and think up as many ideas as you can. There are lots of ways to approach this and to get your creative thinking going. Nutty ideas, impossible ideas, bring 'em all on. You don't want to filter at this stage.
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast 85 and it's about mastery. A new client dubbed me the Clutter Master. It made me smile because I just watched a kung fu movie the other night where two men vie for the title of wing chun master. Imagine me holding my hands board straight and moving my arms gracefully into position to attack my enemy: clutter! I do know how to master clutter. I do it for myself and I teach others. What's important to remember is that I continue to defend my title every day. Clutter challenges me...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast 79 and it's based on Simple Way #51 in my book, Work backwards. For the last several months I've been talking about other topics that aren't in the book but today we're back. Only one more to go after that! Then I need new material again. Don't be shy, dear listeners, about suggesting subjects you'd like to hear about. You can post them on my Facebook page where you'll find me as Clutter Coach. Or email me at Claire at cluttercoach.net. Working backwards is a technique to use...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast 84 and it's about new year's resolutions. Of course it is! It's January 4 and if you made any resolutions, the holidays are definitely over and you have to face putting them into action. If you didn't make any resolutions, or think they are complete baloney, listen in anyway. I know lots of people who hate resolutions, mainly because they think resolutions are a great way to set yourself up for flopping. They entice you to set unreachable goals and just become depressing when...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is Podcast #80 and it's about Seeing. I mentioned the concept of inattentional blindness in podcast 69 about Noticing but I didn't elaborate on exactly what it is. Basically, it means that you can look directly at something but not be conscious of seeing it, or remember seeing it. Scientists previously believed that eyesight was like a video recorder, registering every single thing the eye saw. Now it seems more likely that although the eye may record all, much of this information...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
Today is a historic day! My topic is Simple Way #52 , Piggyback new habits, and it's the last chapter in the book. Yay! This is podcast #82 so I've done plenty of shows on content that isn't in the book, probably another book worth. When you want to develop any new habit, it's very helpful to piggyback it onto a current habit. That gives it some structure to lean on. It means you don't have to start from 0. Say you’re working on a new organizing habit, such as getting your personal mail...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is Podcast 81 and it's about how you can be productive even if you're sick, or tired or just feeling those low energy winter blues. In podcast 70 I talked about categorizing your tasks by context the way David Allen suggests. That's what this is. You need a category of stuff to do when you're not up for doing any of the hard stuff. If you're really sick, you should rest. Be unproductive while you get better, then get back into the swing of things, instead of working at quarter speed...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is Podcast 83 and it's about, mindfulness, or paying attention. What I mean when I talk about being mindful is nothing to do with Buddhism or meditation, it's just paying attention to the present moment. In podcast 53 I used the word meditation, so let me explain. There, I meant a state of mind you can get into to help you carry out mundane tasks. It's a state of gentle focus, of turning your attention away from distractions. This state of mind is not a passive state, just as meditation is...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is Podcast 67 and it's about project strategies. Some friends of mine are getting married next month, at home. They've been doing a lot of home improvement projects and extensive landscaping and all those projects are on a kind of collision course with wedding planning right now. The projects are in varying states of completion. Some of them could go on indefinitely, or lead to further projects, as we know most home improvement undertakings do. Remember that 80's movie, The Money Pit?
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast 69 and it's about noticing. You have to notice something before it becomes part of your conscious world. Our brains do a great, and necessary, job of filtering out most of what we see so that we're not overwhelmed every second of the day. Sometimes we filter out things that we can't figure out how we missed. A great example of that is the famous video created to demonstrate the concept of inattentional blindness. You can see it on Youtube by searching for selective attention...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast 63, The big declutter, part 2. Last time when we left off (which was not last week because I was on vacation), I described having a vision for how your chosen room should look and how it will be used. I talked about skimming the easy stuff off the top. I described basic sorting ideas and how to get started. So, let's get back to it. In my sister's studio there aren't shelves to the left. It's a wall, against which are leaning old paintings she doesn't care about anymore,...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast #68 and it's called Start somewhere and it's about a trick you can use if you're having trouble starting something. Back in podcast 24, called Baby Steps, I talked about a similar thing, how you can make progress on a project by taking the smallest possible step; the least intimidating, easiest step. Baby steps and the technique I'm going to talk about are very helpful for big projects that can be daunting. One reason people have a hard time starting are that the project is...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast 71 and my topic is starting. I talked about that a few podcasts back, where I gave some ideas on how to get into action when you find yourself continuing NOT to. This time I'll talk less about technique and more about mindset, or the emotional background to starting. Or not starting. Sometimes not starting means you're procrastinating. But whenever you bring up that word, you start talking about what you're procrastinating about and why you're procrastinating and then go looking...
Topics: clutters, paper management, self help, col#1
Hi, gang, this is podcast 70 and it's about chunking. This is a concept you should be familiar with if you're a regular listener. I talk often about how to make an unmanageable project manageable by cutting it into small pieces or chunks. You can't "do" a project. Projects have lots of steps and they can't be done all at once. If you put a project on your to do list, don't be surprised if it languishes there because your brain won't be able to see a way into this giant blob of...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
I'm here with Podcast 64. It's based on simple way #49 from my book: Time travel. If you've been listening to this podcast or reading the book, you know I love tricks. I love to think up sneaky ways to get people to do things they don't want to do, although they want to HAVE DONE them. You know that feeling. You'd love to wake up one morning and find your desk all neat and tidy, as if the organizing elves have been there during the night. You just don't want to do it yourself. Because that's...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast 66 and it's about attachment to things. People keep things they aren't actively using for many reasons. Sometimes these things are valuable items that could be sold. Sometimes they're gifts one can't bear to get rid of. Sometimes they're things that should have been returned but now it's too late so they're stuck in limbo. They could be part of a future project that keeps not getting done. Or part of that large group of items that could come in really handy someday. All of...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is Podcast 65 and it's about your junk drawer! I know you have one. Everyone has a junk drawer. It's okay to confess because, drum roll please, it's perfectly okay to have one! Nope, I'm not going to tell you how to get rid of it. It's actually a good solution to the problem of where do you put all those little miscellaneous items. But not just any old thing can be shoved in here. If it turns into a dumping spot that you have to rummage through to find anything , that's no good.
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
Podcast 62: the big declutter, part 1 Today's podcast is another request, this time from my sister who's a teacher and an artist and is planning to tackle decluttering her studio this summer. Like many people, especially teachers and artists, she collects things that might come in handy sometime and she has lots of projects that require their own tools and materials and she has artwork itself that continues to multiply. She doesn't want to spread out too much during this declutter project so...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
Today I present you with podcast #61 and it's about general organizing principles. Let's get back to basics. I'm going to talk about some fundamental concepts and ideas about organizing. It probably won't be anything you haven't heard before, but some of the ideas might make you say, oh, yeah! I forgot about that! Or you might not be familiar with them but they'll make sense to you. The two I'll talk about today are: keep things you use often close by and things you seldom use farther away,...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast #58 and it's called Forget about trying to remember. It's based on Simple Way #48 in my book, which was originally called "memory is overrated." Boy, is it! I've had a cold this week and my brain, including my memory, has turned to mush. And I'm posting a day late due to this crummy cold. This week, even more than usual, I need those notes I write to myself. I keep a pad of Post-Its in my car to remind me of things I need to do. I stick one Post-It on the dashboard...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is Podcast 57 and it's about developing your vision of being organized. I talked a little about this topic in podcast 50, stay Focused on you. In that podcast, I emphasized that it doesn't matter what all the books say, or even what I say, you should have your own vision of what being organized looks like. This podcast isn't in my book. It's based on material in my free ecourse which you can find on my website. Today's episode is called "develop your vision."
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
Today's podcast is #60. It's about creating good passwords, keeping them safe and, of course, being able to remember and find them! This topic was requested by a listener. Passwords are a necessary chore. They are a chore because you really need to make good ones in order to keep your information safe. It's super tempting to get lazy and use the same one over and over, or use something really easy to guess. I'm amazed when I read that people still use "password" as their password....
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast #54, based on Simple way #45: How to drown out distractions Some distractions in life are unavoidable, but many are not. We tend to think that distractions just come at us willy nilly and we are helpless before them. But the truth is that we just aren't disciplined enough to filter them out. Distractions like jackhammering below your window are annoying, even more so because we don't have control over them and we just want them to go away. Distractions like Facebook and...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
Welcome to podcast #53 which is based on Simple Way #44: Tidying up as a meditation Routine physical tasks can be good opportunities to multi task, since you don’t have to think about them while you’re doing them. On the other hand, they can also be a great time to take a break mentally. There’s a Zen saying, “Before Enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After Enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” Being present and mindful is being enlightened, it's not just the path to...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is Podcast #55 and it's based on Simple Way #46: Take a fresh look Have you noticed how little you need to get by happily when you’re travelling? When you’re away from home, you’re focused on activities and people, not stuff. If you forgot to bring something, you buy another or borrow one or just make do with what you have, without worrying about it. I'm going to give you a tip to leverage that state of being, but I want to talk about it a little more first. Not only do you get...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
Today's podcast is based on Simple Way #47: and it's called Little things have a big impact. This is podcast #56, in case you're counting. If you're feeling daunted by the prospect of getting organized, this podcast episode is for you. Maybe you've got an entire house to organize and it's been way too long. Maybe you never really learned how and it seems like a ginormous project. I'm not going to say it isn't, but just like any other big project, it needs to be broken down into manageable...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This is podcast #59 called Living with Others. Today I'm going to respond to an email I got from a listener. Her question had several parts to it and I'm going to address just one part of it today, which has to do with living with other people. In her case, it's adult children who have come back to live in the family home. But I'm going to talk about living with roommates in general or even with your spouse and kids.
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
Okay, this is the beginning of the book chapter called Strategies. The topic today for Podcast #52 is about gifts and it's called Give Uncluttery gifts. Back on podcast #11, I talked about letting go of unwanted gifts. I even gave you permission to do it! This week, I'll talk about the other part of the equation, alternative types of gifts that don't cause clutter in the first place. The good news! You are still free to give gifts! But you can do it guilt-free by choosing ones that won't...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
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As a professional organizer, I created this podcast to provide bite-sized, easy to implement ideas so you can get organized and decluttered and stay that way
Topics: Clutter, declutter, organize, productivity, paper-management, self-help, procrastination
This is podcast #51. It's based on Simple Way #42 called You get to choose. Today's podcast is You get to choose. Remember that no one can force you to do anything. This is your life and you are choosing at every moment to live as you do. I've talked in previous podcasts about decision making and how important it is. In podcast 45, I talked about how you need to consciously decide to make decisions. Why? Because you're already making decisions every day. You're already choosing to live in...
Topics: paper management, self help, coach, col#1
This is Podcast 50, Simple way #41 which is Stay focused on you. Okay, onto today's topic: Stay focused on you. When the going gets tough, remind yourself why you want to get organized. The best reasons are ones that make your life easier, make it more fun and more relaxed. If you're not clear on why you want to get organized, take my free email course, 7 steps to successful organizing. You can find it on my website, cluttercoach.net, under the Free Stuff tab. This program will take you...
Topics: organize, self help, clutters coach, col#1
OK, here we are at podcast #44. It's based on Simple Way #36 which is called What’s the worst case scenario? Do you remember that book, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook ? It contained descriptions of wacky situations, like needing to escape from quicksand, or jump off a moving train. It's all apparently real advice from experts like Navy SEALS, although the situations aren't ones that most people will ever face. Still, when you read a book like this, it makes you feel more...
Topics: clutters, self help, clutters coach, col#1
This podcast is based on Simple Way #35 and it's called Boss hat/employee hat. What does that mean? It means the boss and the employee have different roles and responsibilities. For effective decision making, you have to take on both those roles, but… not at the same time. This sounds like I'm talking about a work situation, but this is about any time you go from an idea to completion, at work or in your personal life. When you are conceiving an idea, then planning on how to do it, you...
Topics: clutters, productivity, self help, col#1
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